I was a big Captain Planet fan. I had the figurine back in the day and the ring, so you can imagine how excited I was when I saw a Captain Planet game! What more could you want? Four of the five planeteers are playable with a level or two each (the box says 9 levels altogether but that would be pushing it. I think they would be including the bosses as a separate level). Ma-Ti is left out. I guess they couldn't figure out how to adapt his power to the game. He does pop up with some advice before entering each level though. The Planeteers are captured by a separate well known eco-villain from the TV show and are freed by completing the level. They then combine their powers to summon Captain Planet. What's a little different to most games is that instead of having a certain amount of lives, you just have one hour to complete everything. If you die, you can just have another attempt. The levels are different enough from each other but maintain platforming and shooting aspects. As a youngster I was never able to complete all of the levels to then play as Captain Planet in the final level. Going back to it, they really aren't that difficult. The final level with CP is a pain in the ass though. The aim is to destroy all of the weapons on a ship that is housing the villains, then defeat the boss. There are projectiles coming at you from everywhere, particularly under water, and controlling Planet to go the way you want him to can be problematic. I'll be honest, I lost it a few times. The difficulties range from easy, medium and hard, and I think when you complete the game, cheat mode becomes available where you have an unlimited amount of lives/powers. The graphics are decent with some nice touches, particularly in Linka's level. I enjoy some of the music too but there is a huge omission. The theme song isn't featured! Gameplay 3/5 Graphics 3.5/5 Sound 3/5 Difficulty 4/5 Originality 3/5

Shyne's debut is a bit underrated I reckon. Maybe it's the unfair comparison to Biggie that means he was/is critiqued harder. Apart from the extremely slight similarity in the deep voices, I really don't hear much reason for the two rappers to be compared at all. Overall the beats are fairly generic and raw, but Shyne's street raps work well over them. There are still some boring moments, but I like enough of this album. Best Tracks: Whatcha Gonna Do, Bad Boyz, The Life, It's Ok, Bonnie & Shyne, That's Gangsta, Commission

I'm a big fan of the series but this is the same old stuff really. While I think the lack of vehicle damage and being able to use your opponents to help you get around a corner is something somewhat GT-esque, the time has probably passed for a series that prides itself on being the 'real driver simulator' to include those features, not to mention flags for cutting corners in races. edit - There does seem to be a couple of events which do slow you down for a certain amount of time if you do so - it may be the S events. Graphically the game looks good, particularly the cars, but they don't seem to be pushing the ps3 to its limit with the scenery, and the step up from GT5 is very minimal if there at all. Another thing is that at times it seems too dark on certain parts of tracks, in the dashboard view some cars are completely black, and the shadows aren't constructed correctly. The menus have always been a bit clunky to get through in the series and while they have improved, we should be able to just go to the next license test or race without going all the way back to the original menus. This needs to be in GT7. The best thing about this and what I looked forward to most was the license tests, where the clock does offer more of a challenge than the AI. In saying that, gold is definitely easier to get these days than in the earlier games in the series. Despite the disappointing continual omission of rallying/off road racing, apart from a few races, as expected there is a heap of things to do to keep a racing fan busy. And with regular updates it doesn't look like ending. Gameplay 4.5/5 Graphics 4/5 Sound 4/5 Difficulty 3.5/5 Originality 3/5

An underrated and underknown FPS on the PS2. You take the role of a member of a special riot response squad to stop a gang of terrorists taking over the city. It may not sound too original, but in the process you work with firemen, medics and police which adds to the game and makes it feel unique. It looks quite nice also, and there are even well put together live action news reports to fill you in on the plot before each mission.

The AI isn't the greatest at times, bullets go into walls when the reticle is on an enemy and the graphics are average for a 2008 game. In terms of the gameplay, this doesn't advance the genre either but the story is interesting enough and its main strength. The game takes place in an alternate history in which Winston Churchill dies in 1931 (he was really hit by a car in NY), eight years before the start of World War II, presenting the possibility of what could have happened to Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world without his leadership. The United Kingdom is subdued by Nazi Germany in 1940, and the rest of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East fall soon afterward. The United States, infected with anti-war sentiment, does not get involved overseas. The game takes place in the midst of the Greater German Reich's invasion and occupation of the east coast of the United States in 1953-. I will say though for a game with this story it doesn't do all it can, as the cut-scenes are too limited to completely immerse the gamer into it. I played this on normal difficultly and there are one or two tricky parts but most of the time it's easy enough to hide behind something when wounded while the health regenerates. I don't mind my FPSs simple and this is definitely that but there's nothing special about it to recommend to others. 2.5-3/5 Gameplay 3/5 Graphics 3/5 Sound 3/5 Difficulty 4/5 Originality 3/5